Being planted in the Midwest, I don’t have a ton of practical reasons to take the train in my regular life. When I’m traveling, though, it’s a different story. Rather than shying away from this form of transportation due to unfamiliarity, I embrace the opportunity to move about the world in a different way. I’ve taken it from Berlin to Stuttgart, Copenhagen to Amsterdam, Madrid to Sevilla, and Seattle to Vancouver.
There are tons of advantages to train travel. It’s usually less expensive than flying, and it sometimes takes roughly the same amount of time. There’s no hassle at the airport, and you can see so much more of your surroundings out the train window. For this reason, I decided to book an overnight train (round) trip between Bangkok and Chiang Mai on Thai Railways.
Despite my prior train travel experience, only one of those trips — Copenhagen to Amsterdam — had been an overnighter, and it wasn’t a great time, to be honest. The 15-hour trip cost me €90, and I didn’t even get a bed. I spent an uncomfortable night cramped on my seat in the compartment as other passengers boarded and disembarked at all hours.
Let’s talk about how Thai Railways stacks up.
Thai Railways Logistics
I booked my train tickets about a month in advance at 12Go.Asia.com. I’m not sure if there are other ways to book tickets, but this was easy enough, so I would recommend it. After booking, I got a confirmation email, but this was not my ticket. I was instructed that I would need bring my confirmation and pick up my actual train tickets at the 12Go Asia office near the train station in Bangkok, no later than 60 minutes before departure. I did this a day in advance with no issues. A couple of tips for booking:
- Both the #9 and #13 trains depart Bangkok in the evening and arrive in Chiang Mai in the morning. You want to be on the #9 train. It is newer… and most importantly (based on reviews), it’s not uncommon to encounter roaches on the #13 train.
- Likewise, both the #10 and #14 trains depart Chiang Mai in the evening and arrive in Bangkok in the morning. For the same reasons listed above, you want to be on the #10 train.
- Try to book a “lower berth” – this means lower bunk. I’ll explain this more in a bit.
The #9 train departed Bangkok-Hua Lamphong Station at 6:10 p.m. and arrived in Chiang Mai 13 hours later at 7:15 a.m.
Convenience
Hua Lamphong Station is in an incredibly busy part of Bangkok. When I went to pick up my tickets, I couldn’t even tell you the number of times I almost got hit by cars and tuk-tuks as I attempted to cross the street. Definitely allow yourself plenty of time to arrive; you never know when the traffic is going to be bad. Once you’re inside the station, though, you pretty much just walk right up to the train.
When you arrive in Chiang Mai in the morning, you simply get off the train and go on your way. It’s only about a 20-minute walk from the train station to the city center, but you can also take a taxi.
Security
There is no security checkpoint at either train station.
Experience
It was actually really fun to take the overnight train. I booked a 2nd-class sleeper car with air conditioning. A 1st-class car wasn’t that much more expensive, but it sounds like you get something similar to a hotel room in train form. Being a solo traveler, that didn’t sound very appealing to me because I like to meet and interact with other people, so that’s why I went with 2nd-class.
I’ll try to describe how the seats were set up. Each seat was single, but every pair of seats faced each other. The seats were labeled by “top berth” or “lower berth.” The people across the aisle from me weren’t very friendly, so I didn’t have anyone to talk to until my “top berth” companion, solo traveler Will from London, took his seat facing me. We had a good time talking and trying to look out the window at the darkening landscape.
Around 10 p.m., a staff member came through each train car to convert the seats into beds. The bottom bunk was made out of the two seats and a wall panel folding down, and the top bunk was made of a panel dropping from the ceiling. It was fascinating to watch, and the train staff was very efficient at making the beds quickly. Eventually, people began to migrate toward the bathrooms to brush their teeth, and upon arriving back at their bunks, everyone pulled their bed curtains closed.
So, why should you book a lower berth? As someone who generally likes the top bunk, I almost made a mistake here… until I read countless reviews stating that, though the top bunk itself isn’t bad, the glaring overhead light makes it impossible to sleep. In my lower bunk I slept really well and woke up in Chiang Mai the next morning feeling rested. Will, on the other hand, told me unprompted that he couldn’t sleep at all because of the light.
Value
Thailand is relatively inexpensive, so my money stretched pretty far when it came to train travel. I booked my reservation for ฿1391 ($44 USD) each way. When I compare that to the cost of a hostel + plane ticket, I come out slightly richer for having taken the train.
Although the journey took 13 hours — and a flight between Bangkok and Chiang Mai takes about an hour — since this was an overnight trip, I didn’t feel like I wasted any valuable time. Also, my sleep schedule stayed fairly regular, rather than taking a super early or super late flight between cities. Finally, I had the opportunity to meet Will, whom I ended up hanging out with the entire time I was in Chiang Mai.
When I take the train, it’s usually not by necessity — it’s for the experience, and the overnight trip between Bangkok and Chiang Mai is a good one.
Start Your Thai Railways Booking with 12.GoAsia
Would you ever take an overnight train trip? Or what do you think of it? Leave me a comment and let me know!
-Cathy
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Originally Published on March 11, 2018.
We took an overnight from Leningrad to Moscow. Not a modern train at all. We had a private booth with bed on each wall. I was scared to undress so slept fully dressed. Grandpa got up in The night to go to the bathroom and got in the wrong booth where the conductor was sleeping. It was fun though. We got a sack lunch type breakfast. The bottled water was the best thing
That’s a great story! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi, can you choose your seats? We are traveling as a couple and want to be together and if possible even both of us getting a lower bed.
Hi, Alina!
So glad you found my post, and thanks for your comment. It’s a great question.
First of all, I want to say that I don’t think I was able to choose my seat, but I was able to choose that I wanted a “lower berth.” At least that’s how it was 5 years ago — not sure about right now.
As far as sitting together, like I mentioned in my post above, there are two seats on each side of the aisle, but each set of two seats faces each other. There was a couple across the aisle from me who were clearly seated together. I would imagine if you’re on the same ticket and book far enough in advance, you and your partner would be seated like that. The only downside, though, is that when it’s time to convert the train seats into beds, one member of the couple would need to sleep on the top bunk.
I guess the alternative would be if both of you selected lower bunks (if you’re able to), but that would mean you wouldn’t be sitting facing each other during the rest of the trip — you’d be sitting directly across from a stranger.
Of course, when you’re actually on the train, you might be able to find people to trade with you, no matter the situation you’re in. I was clearly alone so this didn’t impact me last time, but if I were to do it again with my boyfriend, I would probably book our tickets together, sit facing each other, and then play Rock Paper Scissors to see who has to sleep on the top bunk… be sure to bring an eye mask. 🙂
I hope this helps! Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.
–Cathy